2011: Costa Rica – Earthwatch research demonstrates that farmers can increase coffee yields by up to 25 percent by reducing the use of fertilizers and reducing soil acidity – creating financial returns of up to $1,200 for farmers and improved environmental outcomes.

2008: Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia – Designated an Important Bird Area of Mongolia, this area now protects cinereous vulture and golden eagle nesting sites. In 2009, it became a model for other national protected areas.

1995: Moreton Bay, Australia – Earthwatch volunteers monitoring shorebird habitat needs and migration are instrumental in the bay’s designation as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance.

2011: Matura, Trinidad and Tobago – Years of work by Matura Earthwatch partner Nature Seekers, informed by data collected by Earthwatchers, culminate in a ban on turtle harvesting from all coastal waters.

2006: Alboran Sea, Spain – Busy shipping lanes are diverted after Earthwatch data connecting acoustic and water pollution with a decline in common dolphin numbers are presented to the International Maritime Organization.

1984: Sandy Point, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands – The area is designated a national wildlife refuge by the U.S. government thanks to the work of Earthwatch volunteers to eliminate poaching of leatherback turtle nests and rescue hatchlings.

2010: Earthwatch teams discover a 2,000-year-old dog burial at Ban Non Wat, Thailand. The skeleton provides new evidence on the relationship between the area’s prehistoric people and their environment.

2001: Ischigualasto Valley, Argentina – The area is named a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to Earthwatch work on fossil beds containing the world’s earliest dinosaurs.

1991: Rehoboth, Namibia – Earthwatch scientists and volunteers find so much evidence of prehistoric Namibian culture that the Rehoboth Museum is built to house it.